The Buddy Johnson Orchestra is often credited as being the link between the big band era and the rhythm & blues era and he is considered by some as one of the fathers of R&B.

The band was launched by South Carolina native Buddy Johnson (born on this day in 1915) at the dawn of WWII. As the war raged on, Johnson began turning to the blues as inspiration and began to blend it with his big band sound. When the war ended, other jump band leaders paired down their bands to small 4 to 6 piece combos. Alternately, Johnson's band kept growing at one point reaching 17 members. It must have been an incredible sound to experience in person, which explains why he remained a popular live act coast to coast into the rock n roll era.

The record of the day features Buddy's little sister Ella on vocals. She is a legend as well.

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I'm excited to highlight some of my favorite records in a variety of genres (soul, R&B, classic country, rockabilly, oldies, garage rock, etc). These won't all necessarily be "dance" records per se. They will all be records that I believe deserve a special listen. I simply love good music, rare or not. Hopefully you will spend some time here and love music right along with me! Lets give this a shot!Portland Soul DJPortland Classic Country DJPortland R&B DJPortland Rock 'n' Soul DJPortland Party Producer